System and method for transferring personalization information among computer systems

• US 20040165008A1
• Filed: 05/08/2003
• Published: 08/26/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 05/08/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Migo Software, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Data Transfer, LLC
• Inventors: Neumann, Christopher Jason, Levine, David Brett
• Granted Patent: US 7,299,422 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/789
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/451 Execution arrangements for user interfaces

Abstract

A system and method transfers personalization information to a portable storage device from a first computer system, and then adds personalization information to a second computer system from the portable storage device.

Claims

1. A method of personalizing a computer system, comprising:

transferring from a first computer system to a portable storage device, personalization information comprising at least one selected from at least one web site URL designated by a user and at least one file in a first set;

transferring at least a portion of the personalization information from the portable storage device to a second computer system;

at least attempting to at least suppress a display of at least one web site URL on the second computer system, said at least one web site URL having been designated on the second computer system as a favorite web site before the transferring at least the portion of the personalization information step; and

causing to be displayed on the second computer system at least one desktop icon corresponding to each of at least one file in a second set on the portable storage device.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the transfer to the second computer system is performed without creating a user account for the purpose of the transfer and display of the at least one desktop icon.

3. The method of claim 1 additionally comprising installing a hook into a computer program that manages desktop icons.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the portable storage device communicates with the first computer system and the second computer system via a serial communication interface of the portable storage device.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the files in the first set comprise all of the files in at least one first folder.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein:

the at last one first folder has at least one name; and

the files are transferred to at least one second folder on the portable storage device, the at least one second folder having at least one name corresponding to the at least one name of the at least one first folder.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the at least one web site URL designated by the user comprise a plurality of web site URLs stored as browser favorites.

8. A system for personalizing a computer system, comprising:

a personalization information retriever having an input for receiving from a first computer system at a first time, personalization information comprising at least one selected from at least one web site URL designated by a user and at least one file in a first set, the personalization information retriever for providing the personalization information retrieved at an output coupled to a storage device;

a personalization information provider, having an input coupled to the storage device at a second time, different from the first time, the personalization information provider for providing at least a portion of the personalization information from the storage device to a second computer system;

a desktop icon saver for at least attempting to at least suppress a display of at least one desktop icon on the second computer system via a input/output coupled to the second computer system at the second time; and

a desktop icon inserter for causing to be displayed on the second computer system at least one desktop icon to each of at least one file in a second set on the storage device, via an input/output.

9. The system of claim 8 wherein the transfer to the second computer system is performed without creating a user account for the purpose of the transfer.

10. The system of claim 8:

additionally comprising a DLL injector for installing a hook into a program that manages desktop icons, the hook coupled to the desktop icon saver; and

wherein the desktop icon saver at least attempts to at least suppress the display responsive to the hook.

11. The system of claim 8, wherein the personalization information retriever input, personalization provider output, desktop icon saver input/output, and desktop icon inserter input/output are coupled to a serial communication interface.

12. The system of claim 8, wherein the files in the first set comprise all of the files in at least one first folder.

13. The system of claim 12 wherein:

the at last one first folder has at least one name; and

the files are transferred to at least one second folder on the second computer system, the at least one second folder having at least one name corresponding to the at least one name of the at least one first folder.

14. The system of claim 8 wherein the at least one web site URL designated by the user comprise a plurality of web site URLs stored as browser favorites.

15. A computer program product comprising a computer useable medium having computer readable program code embodied therein for personalizing a computer system, the computer program product comprising:

computer readable program code devices configured to cause a first computer system to transfer from the first computer system to a portable storage device, personalization information comprising at least one selected from at least one web site URL designated by a user and at least one file in a first set;

computer readable program code devices configured to cause a second computer system to transfer at least a portion of the personalization information from the portable storage device to the second computer system;

computer readable program code devices configured to cause the second computer system to at least attempt to at least suppress a display of at least one desktop icon on the second computer system; and

computer readable program code devices configured to cause the second computer system to cause to be displayed on the second computer system at least one desktop icon to each of at least one file in a second set on the portable storage device.

16. The method of claim 15 wherein the transfer to the second computer system is performed without creating a user account for the purpose of the transfer and display of the at least one desktop icon.

17. The method of claim 15 additionally comprising computer readable program code devices configured to cause the second computer system to install a hook into a computer program that manages desktop icons.

18. The method of claim 15, wherein the portable storage device communicates with the first computer system and the second computer system via a serial communication interface of the portable storage device.

19. The method of claim 15, wherein the files in the first set comprise all of the files in at least one first folder.

20. The method of claim 19 wherein:

the at last one first folder has at least one name; and

the files are transferred to at least one second folder on the second computer system, the at least one second folder having at least one name corresponding to the at least one name of the at least one first folder.

21. The method of claim 15 wherein the at least one web site URL designated by the user comprise a plurality of web site URLs stored as browser favorites.